Food in the Hood
Episodes
[FIH Ep. 60] Reacting to recent food business news: an FIH hot take
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben reacted to the recent food business news of brand sales and strategies of global consumer package goods companies. The hosts also intro...
[FIH Ep. 59] Tenure track tales: starting a food science professor job
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben returned to the air to discuss Ben's new job as an assistant professor in food science. Amanda interviewed Ben about his journey to...
[FIH Ep. 58] Dutch Delights: A Grocery Adventure in the Netherlands
21 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ben and Amanda mark a major milestone with their first in-person recording, a full six years after launching the podcast! In this special episode, we ...
[FIH Ep. 57] The Incredible Transformation of Lobsters
21 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dive into our latest episode where we uncover the incredible transformation of lobsters. Once so plentiful they were fed to prisoners and used as fert...
[FIH Ep. 56] Processed foods and nutrition
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben are back with another episode of Food in the Hood! It took 4.5 years for the hosts to get to the topic of nutrition as impacted by proc...
[FIH Ep. 55] From food packaging to (de)personalization
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben returned back on air to discuss once again, food packaging! The hosts shared pictures of their groceries and talked about the packages ...
[FIH Ep. 54] An amateur discussion about food packaging
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben came back on air to discuss food packages. Amanda proposed the triangle rule of food packaging to connect cost, environmental impact, a...
[FIH Ep. 53] Beverages trends and thoughts
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben dedicate the last episode of 2022 to beverages! Amanda shared the beverage trends of ready-to-drink cocktails and her recent conference...
[FIH Ep. 52] Thoughts on food inflation
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben return on air to discuss food price increases around the world. The hosts shared their experiences of food inflations in the US and the...
[FIH Ep. 51] All about the mushrooms
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Amanda and Ben talked about mushrooms from many aspects. They discussed the role of fungi in nature, mushroom in meat analogues, mush...
[FIH Ep. 50] Catching up and talking about food conferences
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben celebrated the 50th episode milestone! Amanda gave a big update of her career, and the hosts chatted about Amanda's recent tradeshow ex...
[FIH Ep. 49] Talking about grad school with Abbey
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here is the second half of the interview that we featured Abbey the food scientist on FIH! In this episode, Abbey and the hosts discussed differences ...
[FIH Ep. 48] Abbey the food scientist on FIH!
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben interviewed Abbey the food scientist on the show! Abbey has a food science PhD degree and is an expert on ice cream microstructure. She...
[FIH Ep. 47] Food at the front line ft. Michael Hufana
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do soldiers eat during war? Is it really true they get steak at every meal? In our latest podcast episode, Amanda and Ben invited Mike Hufana, a ...
[FIH Ep. 46] War's impact on foods
04 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Following the terrifying news in Ukraine, Amanda and Ben reflected how wars can impact our food systems. In the episode, the hosts talked about food r...
[FIH Ep. 45] Rambling on processed foods again
28 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben returned on air to talk about convenient and speedy foods (aka processed foods). They discussed how processed foods and food services h...
[FIH Ep. 44] Dark thoughts about the cultured meat technology
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben shared their dark thoughts about cultured meat technology to produce unconventional foods. The hosts really dove into the potentials of...
[FIH Ep. 43] Talking about plant proteins with Dr. Pam Ismail
04 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben welcomed Dr. Pam Ismail as a guest on the show! Pam leads the Plant Protein Innovation Center at University of Minnesota. She is a prof...
[FIH Ep. 42] Teaching food science in K-12 education
21 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben are back with an in-depth discussion about teaching food science to children and teenagers. Food can be both a subject to teach STEM an...
[FIH] Mid-2021 Update
06 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hi everyone! Amanda and Ben recorded a quick update for all the FIH listeners. We will be back to a monthly release schedule for the rest of 2021. Sta...
[FIH Ep. 41] Food complaints and lawsuits
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben came back with a 1.5 month break! This time, the hosts discussed food complaints and lawsuits. Amanda shared a recent experience of sub...
[FIH Ep. 40] Looking back grad school after 1.5 years
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben reflected on their graduate school times 1.5 years after getting their master's degrees. They discussed some misunderstandings about gr...
[FIH Ep. 39] Recombinant protein & GMO foods
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben finally discussed the topic of GMO! The hosts talked about recombinant proteins as food ingredients. From Impossible burgers to sugars,...
[FIH Ep. 38] Reformulating fortune cookies on the air
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben brainstormed ways to reformulate a fortune cookie, an iconic treat served after American Chinese meals. The hosts also shared some inte...
[FIH Ep. 37] A Recap of 2020
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben looked back to the FIH episodes of 2020. It's been a productive year for FIH, publishing 19 episodes about all aspects of food. The hos...
[FIH Ep. 36] An outlook of (non)dairy industry
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben talked about how politics and pandemic have impacted the US dairy farmers. The dairy industry is transforming from simply producing mil...
[FIH Ep. 35] Automation in the food industry: are we worried yet?
01 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben shared thoughts about automation in the food industry and how it might interact with future food jobs. Automation may take over s...
[FIH Ep. 34] The story of canning and more
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Amanda and Ben celebrated the 2-year anniversary of the Food in the Hood podcast! The hosts shared the story of canning and discussed...
[FIH Ep. 33] Talking in circles about circularity
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben followed up the last episode and talked about circularity and circular design of food systems. Product development, food packaging, por...
[FIH Ep. 32] An organic discussion about sustainability
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben shared their thoughts about sustainability. The hosts touched on different aspects of sustainability - as corrective actions and as inn...
[FIH Ep.31] Scientific communication feat. Bryan Le
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Amanda and Ben invited Bryan Le, the author of "150 Food Science Questions Answered: Cook Smarter, Cook Better", onto the podcast to ...
[FIH Ep. 30] Novel Food Tech Companies
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben talked about their picks from the Spoon Food Tech 25 companies. People around the world are doing interesting things about food. Hope e...
[FIH Ep. 29] Systematic racial issues in food and ag
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed racial issues and observations in the food and agriculture industry. This was not an easy recording for the hosts, but they p...
[Ep. 28] Food news under COVID-19 and Amanda's ASMR
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben shared recent food news in this episode. Unsurprisingly, many news pieces are related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hosts discussed abo...
[FIH Ep. 27] Food science and cooking
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed how learning food science can help with cooking. They also followed up on the CBD episode and shared new food products that t...
[FIH Ep. 26] CBD-infused products and more
25 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben talked about CBD as an active ingredient in food product development. Various CBD products are now sold in grocery stores, and the its ...
[FIH Ep. 25] Meal kits services and life under quarantine
11 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed life under quarantine and the growing popularity of meal kits services. They also had brief discussions about Dalgona coffee ...
[FIH Ep. 24] Coronavirus reflection: processed foods
29 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben came back to the topic of coronavirus while they are quarantined in the US. The hosts discussed processed food's role in the current pa...
[FIH Ep. 23] Food waste: prevention and upcycling
15 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed prevention and upcycling of food waste. The hosts agreed that planning for grocery runs can be the simplest and most effectiv...
[FIH Ep. 22] Gut microbiome - lactose-intolerant milk drinkers and more
01 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed the significance of gut microbes in our body, the recent trend of food products developed for gut health, and Amanda being a ...
[FIH Ep. 21] When will we start to eat insects?
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed the development of alternative proteins (insects, algae, cultured meats, etc.). Their conversation focused on integrating alt...
[FIH Ep. 20] Coronavirus reflection: hygiene and food culture
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed the recent outbreak of Coronavirus. They reflected on previous classes that they learned from microbiology and how it changed...
[FIH Ep. 19] Personalized nutrition in the industry 4.0 era
13 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed personalized nutrition in the industry 4.0 era. Data collected from personal health can be used for personal nutrition. ...
[FIH Ep. 18] Design thinking: an action plan for food science education
22 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben continued discussing design thinking in food science. They looked back to the past experience and proposed changes for food science edu...
[FIH Ep. 17] Design thinking: why does it matter for food science
10 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben talked about design thinking and its applications to food science. Design thinking emphasizes on problem-defining and continuous improv...
[FIH Ep. 16] Plant-based meat: what's next?
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben shared thoughts about the aftermath of successes earned from plant-based meats. The conversation ranged from examining the relationship...
[FIH Ep. 15] Plant-based meat: the ingredient list
16 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben celebrated the one-year anniversary of the podcast with a new logo! This episode focused on breaking down ingredient lists for Beyond B...
[FIH Ep. 14] Presentation skills
23 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed making presentations in class, at conferences, and in other professional settings as food science students/researchers. ...
[FIH Ep. 13] A whopping 4 years of combined research experience - Part 2.
27 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Amanda and Ben continued the discussion on academic research, covering setbacks and successes in research. Towards the end of the dis...
[FIH Ep. 12] A whopping 4 years of combined research experience - Part 1.
15 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben talked about how to research as grad students. This episode covers defining research questions, laboratory skills, and communication sk...
[FIH Ep. 11] Working remotely as grad students
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed experiences of working remotely. Ben reported back from the ASBC 2019 meeting in New Orleans last week. Amanda and Ben also r...
[FIH Ep. 10] The intersection between food & data science
20 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed similarities between food science and data science, internet of things for food productions, data literacy and awareness in f...
[FIH Ep.9] IFT19 Recap
13 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed their IFT19 experience in New Orleans just past week. We'll be back on regular posting schedule. Feel free to contact us at f...
[FIH Ep.8] Grad school burnouts
11 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben talked about various types of burnouts in grad school. We will return to normal posting schedule. Explained in this episode! food micr...
[FIH Ep.7] Romaine Lettuce & Foodborne Outbreaks
31 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ben & Amanda talk about the recent romaine lettuce outbreak & foodborne outbreaks in general. Contact us at [email protected] [D...
[FIH Ep.6] Way to grad school: Personal statement and CV
21 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Join Amanda and Ben's discussion about grad school personal statement and reflective CV drafting. You can contact us at [email protected] Ou...
[FIH Ep.5] Way to grad school: Tests and Recommendations
14 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This is the part 2 of the discussion about applying to grad school in food science
[FIH Ep.4] (Mis)perception of food
21 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed the perception and misperception of food including "natural", "processed", and "organic" foods
[FIH Ep.3] Way to grad school Part.1
17 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben take on the hot topic of applying to food science graduate programs.
[FIH Ep.2] Lab people and lab instruments
22 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussed working in labs as grad students, the people and the instruments.
[FIH Ep.1] Ignore the process
07 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and Ben discussing p-value, negative results, and the ignored process. Cornell case: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/09/wh...